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Nearly one in four arrested for weapons are juveniles

Sniffen, Michael J. (1995, November 13). Nearly one in four arrested for weapons are juveniles. San Diego Union Tribune, pp. A1, A14.

OVERVIEW

The Justice Department has reported some disturbing findings on youth and guns:

  • One in four people arrested for weapons crimes is under age 18.
  • Weapons offenses are the fastest growing youth crime.
  • Juveniles accounted for 23 percent of all weapons crime arrests in 1993, up from 16 percent in 1974.
  • Juvenile weapons crime arrests doubled between 1985 and 1993; adult arrests for these crimes grew by one third during that time.

These statistics are consistent with the general surge in violent youth crime that has occurred in the past three years. Attorney General Janet Reno has said that if the trends of last decade go unchecked, juvenile arrests for violent crime will double by the year 2010. The government has responded to the soaring juvenile crime rate by imposing a crime act that makes it a federal offense for people under 18 to own a handgun. The act also states that anyone providing a handgun to someone under 18 could face ten years in prison.

Representative Charles Schumer of New York, ranking Democrat on the House crime subcommittee, said that the juvenile weapons arrest figures are "frightening and show government at all levels isn’t doing enough." The administration is currently asking Congress to override a Supreme Court decision that struck down a law to prohibit people from bringing guns onto school property. Schumer supports licensing and registration of gun dealers and owners, saying, "Thirty years ago, Americans wouldn’t imagine 14-year-olds would have easy access to guns."

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

  1. Do you work with kids prone to involvement in violent activity? Why do they participate in violence?
  2. In your opinion, what are the primary reasons for the increase in weapon crimes arrests among teens?
  3. What are your solutions to the growing problem of teen violence?

IMPLICATIONS

  1. Increasingly violent tendencies among young people point to problems in society. Teenagers are faced with violent media images and tremendous peer pressure, making society largely responsible for their violent actions.
  2. Young people have easy access to guns these days. Government regulations need to accelerated in order to reduce the circulation of guns. Having laws to prohibit guns from being carried on school property should be the foundation of the solution.

Sheila Walsh cCYS

Nearly one in four arrested for weapons are juveniles

Sniffen, Michael J. (1995, November 13). Nearly one in four arrested for weapons are juveniles. San Diego Union Tribune, pp. A1, A14.

OVERVIEW

The Justice Department has reported some disturbing findings on youth and guns:

  • One in four people arrested for weapons crimes is under age 18.
  • Weapons offenses are the fastest growing youth crime.
  • Juveniles accounted for 23 percent of all weapons crime arrests in 1993, up from 16 percent in 1974.
  • Juvenile weapons crime arrests doubled between 1985 and 1993; adult arrests for these crimes grew by one third during that time.

These statistics are consistent with the general surge in violent youth crime that has occurred in the past three years. Attorney General Janet Reno has said that if the trends of last decade go unchecked, juvenile arrests for violent crime will double by the year 2010. The government has responded to the soaring juvenile crime rate by imposing a crime act that makes it a federal offense for people under 18 to own a handgun. The act also states that anyone providing a handgun to someone under 18 could face ten years in prison.

Representative Charles Schumer of New York, ranking Democrat on the House crime subcommittee, said that the juvenile weapons arrest figures are "frightening and show government at all levels isn’t doing enough." The administration is currently asking Congress to override a Supreme Court decision that struck down a law to prohibit people from bringing guns onto school property. Schumer supports licensing and registration of gun dealers and owners, saying, "Thirty years ago, Americans wouldn’t imagine 14-year-olds would have easy access to guns."

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

  1. Do you work with kids prone to involvement in violent activity? Why do they participate in violence?
  2. In your opinion, what are the primary reasons for the increase in weapon crimes arrests among teens?
  3. What are your solutions to the growing problem of teen violence?

IMPLICATIONS

  1. Increasingly violent tendencies among young people point to problems in society. Teenagers are faced with violent media images and tremendous peer pressure, making society largely responsible for their violent actions.
  2. Young people have easy access to guns these days. Government regulations need to accelerated in order to reduce the circulation of guns. Having laws to prohibit guns from being carried on school property should be the foundation of the solution.

Sheila Walsh cCYS

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